By Emily Scheer, Staff Reporter
The Conestoga varsity boys’ soccer team is currently undefeated. It holds the No. 1 spot in the Central League and No. 10 spot in the country. This year’s team is composed of 17 seniors, a Major League Soccer (MLS) Next player and two freshmen.
“I think that the key quality of the team this season is the competitiveness and the work ethic of the players,” said head coach David Zimmerman. “The team works incredibly hard, particularly in practice, and that’s essential because when you have a high-quality practice against good opponents, that really prepares you for the game.”
Daniel Poltaraus and Justin Maxwell are the two freshmen on the team this year. With 17 seniors, the team is mostly comprised of upperclassmen.
“I’ve learned a lot from (the upperclassmen) on the field and off. Everyone’s nice, welcoming, and it’s a good environment. (We’re) really close with each other, more like family than a team,” Poltaraus said. “It’s a lot higher level, but it feels good to win. It’s a good experience so far, but we have to keep winning.”
The team has won the state title four times since 2011 and is vying for a fifth. With his sights set on the Central League, District 1 and state championship titles, Zimmerman said that the team’s continual growth has improved game technique throughout the season.
“The team, in terms of style of play, has improved a lot. There’s stuff we work on constantly in practice. You’d be surprised even though we’re undefeated how much as coaches we are constantly trying to get the team to play better,” Zimmerman said. “So we are constantly evolving as a team.”
A week before every game, the team studies its opponent and their key players. This allows ’Stoga’s platers to set forth for the game. The team meets before the match to prepare mentally as well. Junior Cole Frederick said that the pressure of maintaining an undefeated season has led to better performance.
“We always have a target on our back no matter who we play. So, everybody plays up to the level that we play at and always has their best game against us,” Frederick said. “It’s always difficult, but we always manage to get a good result”.
According to Zimmerman, the positive relationships between the teammates add to the team dynamic on and off the field.
“We have good chemistry, so the players generally get along with each other. They spend time together — some of them are in my classroom just hanging out. One of the things I really like about coaching these players is that they’re nice guys and they get along,” Zimmerman said, “It’s a pleasure to be around them.”
Emily Scheer can be reached at [email protected].
